A Different Beginning
by Cryptic Mist
Summary: A story about Skulduggery and Valkyrie meeting under a different circumstance. Our usual pairings Valduggery and most likely Ghanith. Original characters because I just can't seem to let them go. Romance and adventure! Check out my other stories: Random Times and Bad Guys and Planning for other Valduggery/Ghanith romance and adventures.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a little story based on the idea that Skulduggery and Valkyrie met under different circumstances. It's completely my imagination and not based on facts in the books. But then when are my stories ever like that? Enjoy and sorry for mistakes. **

The mansion looked regal and sophisticated on a night Gordon insisted was significant. He insisted Stephanie attend the event and wear the dress he had his assistant buy her. What Gordon did not predict was that his assistant, while very fashionable and a better stylist than he could ever be, would pick out a long, tight-fitted black dress. Never before had Gordon felt like a father than in that moment. He wasn't a father but seeing the dress and imagining his once little niece wearing it seemed illegal.

Gordon had been lucky the past few years as he had been blessed with the opportunity to watch his niece grow into the beautiful seventeen year old she'd become. When Stephanie was twelve Gordon had been faced with an immense threat on his life by a man called Nefarian Serpine. Gordon barely escaped with his life but thanks to his dear friend, he made it out alive.

Gordon hadn't been publishing any books since then but spending time with Stephanie, his niece who was as close to a daughter to him as he'd get. Tonight was the big night to celebrate the release of his book And The Darkness Rained Upon Them. He'd written years ago but decided to wait for the right time to release it. Turns out the right time was when he needed to pay for all the new furnishings in the mansion Stephanie had insisted he get. She loved the mansion just the way it was but that one fateful night when lounging on the couch that broke from right under her became the last straw. Gordon remembered her storming into his office, a look of pure rage and determination... and probably embarrassment on her face, and demanded he fork out some money for new things.

In attendance were many people Gordon would rather avoid but had to be there according to his publisher. On a personal endeavour to restore order in an otherwise snobby environment Gordon invited his dear friend, Skulduggery Pleasant. He couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when Skulduggery arrived with his hat, large glasses, and a scarf wrapped around the lower half of his... face. The only problem was Stephanie, she hadn't met Skulduggery let alone new of his existence.

XxXxX

Stephanie stared at the dress lying on the bed in the room she practically claimed as her own. Her parents didn't mind her staying here with Gordon so often except for the apparent 'weird' people Gordon socialized with. Stephanie was yet to see these 'weird' people so she left that opinion up to her paranoid parents. The dress was black, very black, and very, very tight. You'd look at the dress and think how can one possibly move in this thing? However, it was surprisingly stretchy material that Stephanie had to admit she'd never quite seen before. She'd have to ask Gordon where he bought it from.

Voices trailed up from the large foyer downstairs. People had started to arrive. In a rush Stephanie slipped on the dress and crimson heels , tied her hair in a seemingly calculated style and ran (as fast as a girl can in such heels) downstairs. Gordon had a room that was rarely used except for big events like these and it was huge. The mansion was probably fifty per cent this room, Stephanie estimated. When she entered she saw more people than she'd anticipated. People were already grouped off and socializing while she was left alone in an unfamiliar environment. Why was she here? She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Large, circular tables lined the perimeter of the room with small name-tags for assigned seats. In the middle was a cleared area, probably meant for dancing, or just talking like most people were, and at the back was a large table of finger food and drinks. This was very high class and very not Stephanie.

"Okay, I don't like this either but if I have to endure it, so do you," Gordon said from behind her. She whirled around, a look of betrayal on her face and poked an accusing finger at him.

"You owe me for this," she said mockingly.

Gordon smiled and hugged his niece. "You have my love, that's all that should matter. You should feel honoured really. I mean, how many people can say that Gordon Edgely loves them? Not many, I tell you, not many at all," he chuckled at the glower on Stephanie's face. "Now I need to go talk to some very narrow-minded and rich people, wish me luck!"

Gordon disappeared in a sea of suits, ties and expensive dresses. Stephanie could practically see the dollar signs on their bodies. As she stared at the room she couldn't decide where to start. Her stomach rumbled. Ah, the food table it is then.

The food table was full of delicious nibbles she wished she could stack onto a plate and devour in a dark corner. A man leaning against the wall next to the table caught her eye. He had a wide-brimmed fedora on but that wasn't the weirdest part. His eyes were covered by a large pair of sunglasses with a scarf wrapped around his head, covering his nose and mouth. She found herself staring a quickly looked away when the man tilted his head at her. He might be sick or something, how rude of her.

Just as she turned away a smooth voice from behind her stopped her. "I have to admit I've never seen you at any of these boring nights before. You don't seem like the rich, snobby socialite type."

Stephanie turned. "I'm not," she replied.

The man leaned in with a gloved hand on her arm. "Your tag is hanging out," he said in a low voice.

Valkyrie leaned back and stared at the man. "Sorry?"

"The back of your dress... the tag. It's hanging out, you forgot to take it off," he repeated.

"Oh my God," Valkyrie felt her face go red and tried to reach behind and retrieve the tag but couldn't quite grab it.

"Need help?" He asked. His voice was like, it was like... velvet. Stephanie couldn't quite form a coherent thought with that voice talking to her.

"Uh... yes please," she tried.

With one swift movement she felt the snap of the plastic being pulled from her dress. She began to thank him when a spine-tingling scream came from the crowd. It was as if the people parted to show her the scene because right in her view was her Uncle Gordon lying on the floor... a pool of blood spilling from under him.

Without thinking of where she was or who she was with she grabbed the arm of the man she'd just been talking to her. As her knees wobbled she dropped to the floor, sobbing her Uncle's name.

"Gordon?" She heard her Uncle's name being spoken in the soft velvet voice of the man. Her grip on his arm slipped off as her vision swirled and blurred but she saw the man running over to Gordon's side and frantically searching each direction. "Out!" he yelled. "Everybody out!"

Stephanie didn't move but everyone else couldn't have cleared out any faster. She was alone in the big room with a stranger and her dead Uncle. She couldn't bring herself to move until the man came to her side and she moved her head to look at him.

"You're his niece aren't you? Stephanie Edgley?" He asked and kneeled in front of her.

Stephanie nodded. "Who did this to him?" She sobbed and couldn't help but stare past him at Gordon's body.

When the man didn't answer it occurred to her that he knew more than he was letting on. She scrambled away from him and he tilted his head. "What did you do?" She asked.

"I didn't do anything," he said. "But I might know who did. You need to get out of this room, I'll join you in a minute. I need to make a call."

Stephanie found herself following the man's orders though she stole a glance at the pale body of her Uncle before leaving and shut the door behind her.

Was she stupid? Following a stranger's orders and leaving him in a room with her Uncle's... dead body. Stephanie's head didn't allow for clear thinking or vision and before she knew it she was falling to the floor into darkness.

**I'll continue with this story line and more Skulduggery to come! Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well... this is a long one. 2, 081 words to be exact. Sorry for any mistakes as I have said before in my other stories I am stuck with an old laptop with no Microsoft. Therefore, no spell check in case I accidentally forget to, or miss, a key. Anyway, I'm sure many of you can comprehend it. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review as it helps me out a lot and tells me if you are into this story!**

Stephanie gasped as if she'd just run a marathon and opened her eyes. Above her was the cream coloured ceiling and beneath her was the soft leather of the couch Gordon had bought not long ago. Gordon. Stephanie sat bolt upright though her brain clearly wasn't ready for the sudden movement and she plopped back down to the couch.

"Are you okay?" A velvet voice said. It felt like a long time ago since she had heard the voice and it scared her that she new what to expect when she found the source of the voice. A scarf. Glasses. A fedora.

Stephanie glanced to her right at the man sitting in one of the reclining chairs his gloved hands entwined. At the sight of him came a recollection of the nights events but more importantly the one event that saw her Uncle lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. She'd cried... a lot, and whatever happened after that was unknown to her.

She felt like she should be crying again, sobbing until she was exhausted, but all she could feel was rage and a coldness in her heart. She thought of her parents, probably still unknown to the fact that their brother and brother-in-law was dead. Stephanie looked up at the man with, what she felt like, new eyes. "Do you know who did this? Who killed my Uncle Gordon?" She asked.

The man, who Stephanie realised was unusually thin, shook his head no.

"You seem calm. Like you've seen this sort of thing before. Did you even know my Uncle or are you another one of those wannabes that claim to know the somewhat famous? What's you're name?" She asked.

"Well, aren't you full of questions. I suppose I should have expected this though, Gordon told me plenty about you to warn me. Strong-willed, brave, smart... stubborn. He loved you very much. To answer your first question, no. I am not a wannabe but I did know your Uncle quite well. We were good friends. He often got me into a world of trouble but it was worth the adventure. And to answer your second question, my name is Skulduggery Pleasant," he replied, his voice still like velvet.

Stephanie pondered over this for a while. She'd heard his name before. While it was very strange it wasn't new to her. She finally remembered. "When I was twelve..." she began. "I was doing my usual exploring around this mansion when I heard Gordon talking about almost dying but he was saved by... Skul- you. I thought he was talking about another one of his books but... it was true, wasn't it? You saved my Uncle's life?" She asked.

Skulduggery Pleasant shrugged and looked away. "We helped each other out," he said.

Stephanie sat back and thought for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said.

Skulduggery Pleasant tilted his head at her. "For what?" He asked.

"Accusing you of having something to do with Gordon's murder. You two were close, you didn't need to hear that," she said with a shrug.

XxXxX

Gordon hadn't been wrong when he described his niece. Any seventeen year old girl would be crying but she was apologising to Skulduggery. She'd just lost her Uncle and she was saying sorry, what a girl. Skulduggery had never thought he'd find a person so curious and interesting and most certainly not in a seventeen year old girl. Skuldugerry glanced at his pocket watch. It was late and he really should be going to report this but he didn't want to leave Stephanie. If he could, he'd stay and talk to her about anything and everything.

"I must go," he said reluctantly and stood. Stephanie stood up and swayed as her previous collapse caught up to her. Skulduggery rushed to her side and placed his hands under her elbows. "You should probably rest."

"Don't go," she said quickly. "I mean, what about Gordon?" She gestured to the direction of the hall.

"He's been taken care of and your family has been notified. You should probably hear of a funeral soon," he said softly. He took a moment to look at Stephanie. "I am truly sorry for your loss."

Stephanie looked at the floor. "I'm sorry too."

Skulduggery let go of her and turned to leave. "Bye Stephanie," he said.

"Goodbye Skulduggery," Stephanie replied reluctantly.

XxXxX

Skulduggery couldn't decide what it was he had to do now. He figured he'd better get back to the sanctuary and see Ghastly about what had happened. It felt wrong to get into the Bentley and drive away but he knew he had to get back.

At the Sanctuary there was the usual crowded hallways of sorcerers busying themselves with insignificant troubles. Skulduggery glided his way through them as most moved out of his way. Ghastly waited for him at the end of the hallway after talking to Erskine.

"Gordon's dead," Ghastly stated.

Skulduggery nodded. "His niece was right there when it happened. Saw his body, I sent her out of the room and she fainted."

"You stayed with her?" Ghastly asked, incredulously.

"I wasn't about to leave her alone to figure everything out on her own now was I?" Skulduggery replied.

"I suppose. Is she okay? Does she know anything?" Ghastly asked.

"Anymore questions?" Skulduggery asked rhetorically. "She just knows someone murdered him. She's quite... interesting," he finished.

Ghastly raised an eyebrow but didn't feed the gesture with a comment. "How so?" He simply asked.

"She's very brave. She fainted, understandably, but when she woke up she was angry. She wanted revenge, I could tell, but she was also calm. A girl her age would have been in hysterics and wanted to see her parents. She didn't mention them at all. I don't know what it is," Skulduggery said.

Ghastly nodded. "Any idea who killed Gordon?"

"No, but that's what I am about to go find out," Skulduggery replied.

When he was back in the Bentley his mind cast back to Gordon's niece. Was she back home? Skulduggery shook his head. Who cares? He took care of his part now he needs to get back to thinking about Gordon's murderer.

On his way back to Gordon's mansion, Skulduggery passed through Haggard and took a right turn instead of continuing straight. Before he could turn away he was rolling past the home Gordon had once pointed out as his favourite brother Desmond Edgley's house. Stephanie's home.

XxXxX

Stephanie found herself thinking about Skulduggery Pleasant at her home in Haggard. Her parents, Melissa and Desmond, were understandably upset when she finally arrived home in the early hours. Her mother had hugged her so tight that Stephanie thought she might not let go.

She retreated to her bedroom where she could be alone to her thoughts. Last night didn't seem real. Gordon died right before her eyes and couldn't shake the image of his pale, limp body lying in his own crimson blood. Then there was Skulduggery Pleasant. A man made up of a velvet voice and charm. He was an enigma with the hat, scarf and glasses she hadn't a clue what was beneath.

Stop thinking about him, you'll never see him again. Stephanie flicked on her stereo and blasted some Led Zeppelin while she kicked her feet up on her windowsill and stared at the boring world outside. Soon she'd have to go back to school but her parents said they'd excuse her for a week. She wasn't one of those people who hated school because it was hard work, however, she did think it was boring and very ordinary. Her entire life was just ordinary. It was rare something exciting ever happened.

A car outside her window rolled past making Stephanie sit upright straight away. It was black and shiny, very shiny, and old looking. It continued on its journey before Stephanie could pinpoint where she'd seen it before. She saw it turn left, in the direction of the pier she always visited. She decided to take a walk down to the pier, maybe her head would be clearer there.

Before she reached the pier she saw the same black car and she paused mid-step. Why was she acting like this? It was just a car. She dangled her legs over the edge of the pier and watched the water ripple as the wind touched it. The water was dark blue, almost grey, due to the cloudy sky.

Stephanie turned around to see the black car and saw a man leaning against it. His suit was perfectly tailored to his unusually thin frame and an assortment of accessories covered his face. Instead of going over to him, Stephanie stayed where she was. Skulduggery Pleasant probably didn't want to see her again, a reminder of last night, the girl who's Uncle died who also happened to be his dear friend.

A man approached Skulduggery and from here Stephanie couldn't see his features except for the one thing about his attire that stood out to her. The stranger wore a glove on his right hand and not on his left, just one glove. Skulduggery pushed himself off the car and faced the man who proceeded to take his glove off. Although Stephanie was very far from them she could easily see the bright red colour of the man's right hand. It was abnormal to say the least but what was more unusual was the purple electricity-like substance pouring from it. Skulduggery was struck in the torso and thrown back.

Stephanie ran over to the car and saw the stranger's face contorted into an ugly expression of pure, sick enjoyment. He gave Stephanie and once-over look with his eyes and walked away.

"Hey!" Stephanie yelled. "What's your problem?"

The stranger paused mid-stride and turned around. "He is my problem," he gestured towards Skulduggery on the ground behind her but she didn't dare take her eyes of the man in case he made a move towards her. "And so was your Uncle but I took care of him sure enough."

As the man continued his walk in the opposite direction Stephanie felt her blood boil. "I will kill you! Don't think I won't find you, you will pay for the pain you've caused. Sure enough!" She mocked. She heard the man chuckle but he was too far to continue yelling at so she decided to help Skulduggery.

She picked up his hat, glasses and scarf that made a trail from his car to his body. "Who the hell was th-" Stephanie stopped before she took another step. Instead of Skulduggery, there was a skeleton on the floor. Fear got the better of her and she assumed the man had seared his skin off. But how is he propped up on his elbow like that? And how are his clothes still intact?

"Who are you?" She asked and immediately felt stupid. It's a damned skeleton.

The skeleton tilted its head, a very common gesture Stephanie had quickly become accustomed to from Skulduggery. "Skulduggery Pleasant at your service ma'am," the skeleton said with a soft, velvet voice.

Stephanie wanted to laugh but part of her knew this was real. She pinched her left palm but she wasn't waking up. This was very real. "Y- you're a skeleton."

"It would appear so," Skulduggery said.

"And you speak," she said.

"I move to, see?" Skulduggery wiggled his fingers and eventually stood up.

Stephanie didn't move. She should probably be running for the hills, screaming her head off. "So that's why you wear the hat, glasses and scarf then?" She asked.

Skulduggery shrugged. "You mean the garments in your hands?" Stephanie handed them back though she didn't remember thinking about giving them back. Her body just did it. "Well the glasses and scarf are pure necessity but the hat is very significant. It holds dear sentimental value within me."

"It's a hat," she said.

Skulduggery sighed. "Not many understand the importance of a good hat so I suppose I shouldn't expect you to understand either."

"Because it's a hat."

"A very important hat."

"You're a skeleton," Stephanie couldn't quite form a coherent thought and neither could her mouth.

"I thought we already established this."

"A skeleton that talks, speaks and has an unhealthy obsession with his hat?"

"It is not unhealthy."

"I need to sit," she said.

"Shall I join you?" He asked.

Stephanie shrugged and nodded. "I have a lot of questions."

"I bet you do," Skulduggery sighed.

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Now this is most definitely a Valduggery story, however, in saying that I am not just going to jump straight into it full-on. It just wouldn't be right and really, it wouldn't be realistic. It will come in little bits here and there until the story progresses and the characters progress as well. If you don't feel like waiting I'd suggest you stop reading, however, if you are one of those readers who loves the cute little moments between Skulduggery and Valkyrie throughout the story then keep reading. There will be cute moments and eventually there will be more and more. It is, inevitably, up to you in whether you decide this is what you wish to read. I do appreciate the reviews and feedback and I'll try to meet the standards expected by you though I do want to write this how I've planned as well. **

**I hope you enjoy it and sorry for the mistakes!**

"Well, unlike your father and Fergus, Gordon chose to believe the stories he was told by his father. I suppose even though he was looking for the magic it actually found him. He got me in many situations ending up with me punching someone in the face," Skulduggery shrugged. "But it was worth it."

"So that's how you knew Gordon," Stephanie felt like she didn't have any more questions though that's how she felt after each question she'd already asked until another popped in her head. So far she knew he was magic, his practice was called Elemental and there were others called Adepts and Necromancers. Along the way she heard many strange names like Ghastly Bespoke, China Sorrows and Erskine Ravel so that lead to an explanation of the differences and significance of the three names one has. True name, given name and taken name. Stephanie pondered over what her taken name could be though nothing came to mind.

Another question revealed itself and Stephanie spoke it immediately. "So what exactly do you do?" She asked.

"I'm a detective. The best there is in our... community. You might even say I'm the best in the world if I was given the chance to investigate a mortal crime," Skulduggery replied.

Stephanie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I don't suppose you're telling me this based on your own opinion are you?" She asked though already knew the answer.

"You'll see," he said.

"I will?"

"Oh. Right, I forgot, you're not magical."

"So, what? You're just going to leave after telling me all of this information about your world and I'll never see you again? Hell no, I'm coming with you. I want to know more," she protested.

"I don't want you to come with me," Skulduggery lied. "You'll only ask me more questions and my non-existent ears won't get a break."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I don't have to be right with you, just take me to this sanctuary place. I could help with the investigation of Gordon's death!"

"The sanctuary won't be happy," Skulduggery muttered.

"I thought you said they were your friends?"

"Ghastly and Erskine are my friends, doesn't mean they agree with everything I do. It will cause a lot of trouble," Skulduggery replied.

"Something tells me you like causing trouble," Stephanie felt like a lawyer trying to rest her case.

"I do like trouble. The look on their faces when I bring in Gordon's niece, it'll be priceless," Skulduggery shrugged. "Why not? I need you to not talk so much though," he finished.

"Come on, you love talking to me," Stephanie knocked Skulduggery with her elbow jokingly.

Skulduggery shook his head. "What have I done."

XxXxX

Roarhaven was simply filthy. Graffiti and flattened cardboard boxes covered windows and building surfaces. Some brick buildings seemed to be hanging on by a thread as bricks were crumbled and missing from the sides. The sanctuary didn't look any better, it was very unappealing.

"So when are we going to the Sanctuary?" Stephanie asked though she knew they were supposedly already there.

"Ha-ha," Skulduggery replied flatly.

"Did you bring me out here to kill me? Because I'm like a liability or something?" She asked.

Skulduggery shrugged. "Maybe."

Stephanie glared at Skulduggery. "Well you could have taken me somewhere pretty. I'd even take a very clean bathroom as my deathbed rather than this hole."

"Charming," he said.

"That's me," Stephanie replied.

"You don't seem at all worried about the possibility that I brought you here to kill you," Skulduggery said.

Stephanie shrugged. "It'd be my fault. I came with you in the first place knowing I could end up dead. I could have probably died because of that Nefarian guy but I'm not fazed. Plus going by your description of Ghastly I'd assume that's his van over there that you were talking about," Stephanie pointed to the side of the building where the back of Ghastly's van was sticking out slightly.

Skulduggery tilted his head down at Stephanie. "What?" She asked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Nothing," Skulduggery replied.

Inside the Sanctuary was like a whole new area. It was clean, white and very bright. Part of Stephanie felt like a little girl again as she followed close behind Skulduggery, hiding from the prying eyes of those standing in the hallways.

Stephanie took a moment to reflect on the past couple of days as Skulduggery led her though a maze of hallways.

Her Uncle Gordon died but not before she met Skulduggery Pleasant. She was then reunited with Skulduggery and apparently her Uncle's murderer. She discovered Skulduggery Pleasant was a skeleton with 'impeccable style' as he described and now she was visiting the government-equivalent building for the magical community. How could her Dad not want to at least do a little research on this? Her dad. Parents. They'd be wondering where she was.

Stephanie put a hand on Skulduggery and he stopped. "I need to call my parents just to let them know I'm still out," she said.

Suddenly she wondered if Skulduggery were about to lecture her about not telling them where she really was. He didn't.

"Hey, I'm just down at the beach. I'm going to go for a walk, I'll ring you when I'm on my way home."

"Okay, be safe," her mother said.

"You didn't care that I might-have told them I was in a Sanctuary filled with a bunch of Sorcerers?" She asked as she caught up with Skulduggery.

He shrugged. "First of all, I think you're at least smart enough to know that would be hard on the brain on any mortal. Second, I knew you wouldn't."

"Skulduggery, we heard about Nefarian's attack. Are you alri-" Ghastly Bespoke, Stephanie assumed due to the scars, paused when he saw Stephanie.

"This is Gordon's niece," Skulduggery said.

"Can I talk to you?" Ghastly said through gritted teeth.

"Excuse us," Skulduggery said with an innocence that made Stephanie smile.

XxXxX

"Have you actually lost your mind or am I seeing things?" Ghastly asked once they were inside a room.

Skulduggery shrugged. "It's highly probable you're seeing things," Skulduggery said. Ghastly glared. "Okay, look I see things in this girl. She can help us with the Gordon investigation at least."

Ghastly sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know I'm never going to win this argument but I want you to know one thing. You are putting her in danger. I don't know if you somehow feel like this is you owing Gordon or something but I can tell you it's wrong. I'm going to bring Erskine and Madame Mist in and we can discuss her... future."

"Fine but she's coming in as well," Skulduggery said and before Ghastly could protest he'd already called for her.

XxXxX

"This is ridiculous! What are we? A shelter for the homeless?!" Madame Mist exclaimed.

"I'm not homeless," Stephanie protested.

"Did I say you could speak?" Mist said without looking at her.

"I don't know, didn't know I needed permission to open my own mouth," Stephanie replied.

Skulduggery saw Erskine smirk at Stephanie's bravery, he felt a sense of pride himself. "Look, Gordon was very close with his niece and she could help us out," Skulduggery said. "She might have access to Gordon's private research that may aid in the investigation."

"You would've just found a way to enter Gordon's mansion without her help," Ghastly pointed out.

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Well at least this way I won't have to break and enter and maybe she can let me in the through the window willingly."

"Through the window?" Stephanie interrupted.

"Doors are for people with no imagination," Skulduggery stated.

"Ah, right."

"Stop it! If we are to use this girl we need to do so immediately and get rid of her just as quickly. What do you suggest?" Mist glared at Erskine and Ghastly.

Stephanie leaned against the wall watching the scene before her. Mist was glaring at the two men with her palms flat on the table while Ghastly and Erskine remained silent. Skulduggery was dusting imaginary flint off his hat.

"Serpine wants Skulduggery dead, what's new?" Erskine begun. "He's seen Gordon's niece for the first time and it so happened she was with Skulduggery. He will use her to either get Skulduggery or distract him," Erskine said.

"Where are you going with this?" Mist asked.

"He wants to use me as bait," Stephanie answered. Erskine and Ghastly stared at her with empty expressions. Were they amazed or confused? "Right?" Stephanie pushed.

"Yeah... right. Serpine has never seen her before but he will expect to see her at the beach or thereabouts so that's where he will find her, with us watching of course," Erskine finished.

"No. We aren't using her as bait. Ghastly you said I was putting her in danger but I'm not here to use her as bait. She's not facing him alone. I'm proof of what he can do," Skulduggery replied angrily.

"You brought her here, this is how she can help, isn't that what you wanted?" Ghastly replied.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Skulduggery asked.

"None of you have asked what I wanted," Stephanie began. "Though I seem to be an insignificant voice in the matter, I'd like to think you would find this useful." Stephanie held up a small black object in her hand. "Nefarian's phone managed to fall out of his pocket. You'd think a notorious man like him would keep this zipped up somewhere but there it was, just lying on the ground next to Skulduggery's car." Stephanie handed the phone to Skulduggery. She had never met the other three before and she trusted the phone would be passed onto someone capable of putting it to use.

"Good job," Skulduggery said.

"Now on the matter of me as playing bait. I'd be happy to. You all seem to think I'm just here because I think it's all a fantasy world," Stephanie shrugged. "And I suppose part of that is true, this is all very exciting, but it doesn't diminish the fact that my Uncle was murdered by this man and I had to see it. So if you think for a second that my decisions are based upon the fact that I want in on this thing you've got going on here then you are sorely mistaken. I am angry, tired and to be quite honest I want revenge. I want Nefarian dead and if I can help, if risking my own life will bring justice, then so be it."

With that statement Stephanie left the room with a slam of the door. She was over narrow-minded people with assumptions. She wanted Nefarian dead and she was prepared to do what she could to make that happen.

**Review! **


	4. Chapter 4

"You know," Skulduggery called has he caught up to Stephanie in four long strides. "You're going to need some training if you expect to help us with this case."

"Alright. So you'll train me then?" Stephanie stopped her angry exit in the middle of the hallway to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I need training, clearly no one here likes me, so you will train me, right?" She spoke slowly as if she were talking to a child.

"First of all, what makes you think that _I _even like you? Second, I am a very busy man. Mysteries to solve, people to punch and people to displease, that sort of thing. And third, I am not particularly fond of the idea of training you just so you can play bait in all of this," Skulduggery stared down the dark hallway, deep in thought.

"Okay then. Of _course _you like me, what is there to dislike? You will be a busy man who also trains a seventeen year old on the side. Lastly, you really hate this whole 'bait' idea don't you?" Stephanie's face loosened into a sly grin.

"No," Skulduggery replied sharply. "I hate the idea. It's a stupid plan with no thoughts put into it at all."

Stephanie shrugged and glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "So why don't we make our own plan?"

"What?"

"We will follow through with their plan only we'll... refine the smaller details."

Skulduggery stared at Stephanie in wonder. "I knew I liked you for a reason."


End file.
